House, Senate Approve Farm Bill

After passage through both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, the farm bill conference agreement,  moves on to the White House, where it will likely be met with a presidential veto. If needed, Congress plans to attempt an override veto.

The $289 billion farm bill extends farm programs for five years; earmarks more than $1.3 billion in funding for organic agriculture, fruit and vegetable programs, and local food networks; includes a new title dedicated to the needs of specialty crops and organic agriculture, including nutrition, research, pest management and trade promotion programs; requires mandatory country-of-origin labeling for fruit, vegetables and meat; and encourages the transition from corn-based ethanol to cellulosic ethanol by reducing the tax credit for corn ethanol by 12%, to $0.45, and increasing the credit ($1.01 per gallon) for cellulosic ethanol production.

In addition, the farm bill includes $10.361 billion for nutrition programs, while funding for traditional crop supports would be cut by several billions of dollars.

“In fact, there is little farm in the farm bill anymore,” said Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).

After the House passage of the farm bill, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer released a statement lambasting the bill: “The bill passed today is a farm bill in name only. It does not target help for the farmers who really need it, and it increases the size and cost of government while jeopardizing the future of legitimate farm programs by damaging the credibility of farm bills in general. At a time of record-setting income for farmers, it sends the wrong message to the rest of the country who are not experiencing the boom of the agriculture sector. This bill is loaded with taxpayer-funded pet projects at a time when Americans are struggling to buy groceries and afford gas to get to work.”